Ma, W.; Wang, Y.; Wang, S.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, H., and Gong, Q., 2019. Absolute current estimation and sea-trial application of glider-mounted AD2CP. Journal of Coastal Research, 35(6), 1343–1350. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

With their respective advantages, the combination of autonomous underwater glider and acoustic Doppler current profile (ADCP) can sufficiently enhance the capability of ocean observation, especially for currents. In this paper, the glider-mounted acoustic Doppler dual current profile (AD2CP) is used for measuring water velocities in the South China Sea. The AD2CP can measure the water velocities relative to the glider. The inverse method is drawn from the processing of lowered ADCP to estimate absolute-velocity profiles. Quality control procedures are performed to screen high-quality measurement data before estimating water velocities. Combined with the nearest cell collected data from AD2CP, the glider flight parameters are calibrated. To constrain the solution, the inverse method is expanded by adding the complementary information (depth-averaged current, surface current, and modeled velocity). The average horizontal water velocities (at a profile time interval) and glider velocities are estimated by this means. The errors of glider velocities estimated from inverse solution are O (0.04 m/s), and the statistical analysis shows that errors in the eastward and northward average water velocities are less than 0.06 m/s. Glider-mounted AD2CP is applied in the observation of internal solitary waves around Dongsha Atoll and provides detailed information of horizontal current induced by the passage of internal solitary wave.